Flaming Pie

Working on the exhaustive Beatles Anthology took up much of McCartney's energies in the early '90s, resulting in a contemplative state of mind that informs this 1997 solo LP. But even when he's on a pure nostalgia trip ("The Song We Were Singing"), it's wisely tempered with restraint, as is the sensitive production of Jeff Lynne and George Martin. There are certainly risks -- weather he's invoking Lennon's surrealism on "Flaming Pie" or riffing through latent mid-life crisis in "The World Tonight" -- but its simple gems and elegant production make the LP rank among his late-career best.